


Safe and Comfortable

by TheLastAutumnLeaf



Category: Sekai-ichi Hatsukoi
Genre: Fluff, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Romance, Sickfic, needy ritsu, sick ritsu, soft takano
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-06-18
Updated: 2019-06-18
Packaged: 2020-05-14 03:09:33
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 2,907
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19264726
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheLastAutumnLeaf/pseuds/TheLastAutumnLeaf
Summary: "The rain had soaked him to his bones and left him shivering, and the hallway wasn't exactly the cosiest place to stay. He looked back at the elevator. Where could he go? He knew no one in this building. Except…" Onodera's soaked, tired and sick and Takano finds out. Onodera/Takano fluff for all your money's worth.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Posting some stuff from fanfiction.net here as well. Wrote two chapters of this fic, waited three years and then finally wrote a final one.

Onodera stepped out of the lift and towards his apartment door. It dripped from his coat and hair and left a trail of rainwater behind him. It was late; he had left the office as the last person and only just made the last train. He stopped in front of the door and rummaged through his pockets. Not there. He put a hand into the bag instead. Nothing. Had he dropped his keys? His head hurt from just trying to think back…  _Oh_. It had rained all day, so his coat had been soaked when he made it to work earlier this day. He had emptied his pockets before putting it up to dry. His keys must be on his desk. At work. He hit his head on the door and sighed deeply.  _Great,_  he thought and straightened up again. He rubbed his forehead and squeezed his eyes shut. The rain had soaked him to his bones and left him shivering, and the hallway wasn't exactly the cosiest place to stay. He looked back at the elevator. Where could he go? He knew no one in this building.  _Except…_ His eyes slid to his neighbour's door.  _No,_ he thought and shook his head. It sent a wave of unpleasantness through him and for a moment, he thought he was going to vomit on his very own doorstep. He put a hand on the door for support and only slowly looked up again, still facing  _that_ door. He  _could_  just sleep here, but… Honestly, that wouldn't make him better at all, and his neighbour would come out sooner or later to scold him and drag him into his apartment. It was better to make it seem like it was his own decision to ask for help, to prove he could take care of himself, right?  _No._  He wouldn't have forgotten his keys, if he could do that. With slow, dragging steps, he made his way to the other door. He raised his hand and gave the door a single knock. While waiting, he cleared his throat. Takano didn't need to know he was sick too, just that he had forgotten his keys and needed a place to crash. He was well aware of the teasing and scolding that would follow that, but it was much, much better than the over-protecting and worrisome mood Takano would be in, if he knew. It wasn't anything anyway, was it? He was just tired from a long day at work, not sick. And in that moment Takano opened the door and Onodera sneezed.

"Onodera? Are you okay?"  _Too late,_ Onodera thought. Takano sounded worried already. Onodera cleared his throat again:  
"I forgot my keys," he mumbled and kept his eyes to the ground. He felt how rough his voice was.

"What?" Takano asked and put a finger under his soaked neighbour's chin and lifted up his face. Takano studied him through his glasses.

"I forgot my keys at work," Onodera said just a pinch louder this time. "And…" His voice faded away and he looked down again. Had his face not already been warm from the upcoming fever, he certainly burned up in embarrassment now.

"And..?" But Onodera kept quiet. They stood in the door. Onodera sneezed again. Takano took him the coat sleeve and pulled him inside.  
"Of course you can stay over, idiot," he said and took the young man's bag and placed it on the floor. "You're soaked. Why didn't you bring an umbrella? It's been raining all day. How could you forget your keys?" Takano kept talking, scolding in a worrisome tone, while he helped Onodera out of his jacket, but Onodera had stopped listening. He just fiddled to get his shoes off without his hands. Takano had a strong hold on his arms to stabilize him.

"You need to get out of that clothes and get warmed up," Takano said.

"Huh," Onodera just mumbled somewhere underneath a cough.

"You're shivering," Takano said and put a hand on Onodera's back. "For how long where you out in the rain?" He followed him to the bathroom and turned on the shower for him.

"Will you be all right to shower on your own?" Takano stared intensely at Onodera.

"Yes," he replied hoarsely and started peeling off the wet clothes. Takano stood there for another moment, watching him carelessly flinging his shirt to the ground.

"I'll make you something warm," Takano said and left the bathroom. Onodera stepped into the hot shower. The heat made him drowsy and he noticed how much his body ached. For how long he stood in the shower, he wasn't sure, but when he stepped out of there, someone had picked his wet clothes off the floor. Instead, a towel was lying on the counter next to a set of fresh clothes. He dried himself off and discarded the towel onto the floor. The clothes consisted of boxers, shorts and a t-shirt. All several sizes too big for him. He pulled on the boxers and shorts, - it was probably the only type of pants of Takano's Onodera could fit, - but he paused when he made it to the t-shirt. He lifted it up to his face and sniffed it. He closed his eyes. It smelled like safety and comfort. He groaned at himself and just pulled it over his head. Before leaving he picked the towel back up from the floor.

He stepped into the living room with the towel clutched in his hands. He stood there until Takano came out of the kitchen with a bowl of hot soup. He placed the soup on the coffee table and picked a blanket off the sofa. In a smooth movement, he took the towel out of Onodera's hands, tossed it to a side and wrapped the blanket around him instead.

"Come on," he said and lead the younger man to the sofa. "Eat something." Takano sat by his side and watched him closely as Onodera picked up the bowl with shaking hands. Seemingly as scared of him spilling, as he was himself, Takano placed a hand underneath the bowl to help him.

"Don't scold your tongue," Takano warned him. Onodera smiled weakly at him and drank the soup carefully. The warmth spread inside of him, as he sank the hot soup. Takano placed the bowl back on the table and put his hands on Onodera's arms.

"Don't tell me you stood outside for long before you decided to knock on my door," he said and caressed his arms. "You can always come to me if you need help." Onodera didn't answer. He felt exhausted and everything ached. His head was spinning and he just leaned into Takano. The consequences of allowing Takano to see him like this, to let him take  _care_  of him, could wait for tomorrow. Takano pulled Onodera into his arms and mumbled against his hair:

"I love you."

Onodera just sighed and drifted off to sleep, safe and comfortable.


	2. Chapter 2

On the bedside table was a box of tissues, some pills, a glass of water and an alarm clock that read 11:34. Onodera closed his eyes again. His head pounded and his body stuck to the sweaty sheets covering him. Wait. He opened his eyes again and glanced at the alarm clock. 11.34. He should have been at work hours ago! He shot up in a sitting position and the room spun around him. His stomach turned with the room and he braced himself for the upcoming of yesterday's dinner. It passed after a moment and he flopped back down onto the pillow. He was still spinning, and he was tired and sweaty and cold but still feverish, so he closed his eyes once more. He couldn't go to work. He had to call in sick and carefully he rolled onto his side and stretched across the bedside table to feel his way for his phone, that wasn't there. Where was that damned thing? He cracked open an eyelid. The alarm clock now read 11.35. Takano had probably already called him a million times. He continued his search for the phone, and in the messing around he knocked down the alarm clock, that wasn't his. The alarm clock wasn't his. He pulled his arm back to him hurriedly and pulled the covers up to his neck. This wasn't his bed or his bed sheets. This wasn't even his bedroom and chances were that this wasn't his apartment. Memories from last night crept back. Takano must have carried him to bed and tucked him in. Thoughts jumbled around inside his head making it impossible to fall back asleep. Besides, he was so wet and cold from sweating all night, he probably needed to shower again. Sighing, he – more carefully this time – sat up. The ice cold floor sent a shiver through his body when he put his bare feet down. He pushed himself up from the bed and shuffled out through the door.

Onodera stopped in the doorframe of the living room and looked at Takano. He sat on the sofa pouring over storyboards spread all over the coffee table and chewing on the end of his red pen. Onodera cleared his throat and Takano looked up. He dropped the pen and got up from the sofa, letting the papers fly from the gust of wind.

"You're awake," he said and strode over to Onodera in long, quick steps. He put a hand to his forehead.

"How are you?" he asked. "You're still too hot. And sweaty. Are you hungry? Thirsty?" The thought of getting anything down his throat right now seemed impossible. He was sure everything would feel like needles and he shook his head.

"No," he whispered, barely audible. He tried clearing his throat.

"No," he repeated, but it came out as a hoarse croak. He looked up at Takano. The man's eyes had widened and were full of worry and pity and a hint of adoration. He enveloped Onodera in his arms and held him close.

"How about a shower?" Takano he asked. Onodera nodded into Takano's chest, and he led them both into the bathroom. Onodera's legs felt like jelly and though he didn't say it, he was grateful Takano had his arms on him. Shutting the door behind them, Takano turned on the shower. Onodera pulled his arms into the t-shirt and pushed it over his head from the inside. He tugged down at the shorts and boxers and let it all fall to the ground. He took a step forward out of the clothes and stood naked on the bathroom floor with his arms wrapped around himself. He hadn't heard Takano leave, and right now he honestly didn't care if the man saw him naked. But looking up, he noticed Takano was naked too, and he suddenly felt the need to hide himself. Takano just looked at him cooly as he took off his glasses and placed them by the sink.

"What? I've been sleeping next to you all night, I'm sticky too," he said and made a move towards the shower.

"Wh-why didn't you shower earlier?" Onodera asked quietly and didn't move.

"Because I was waiting for you," Takano said and took a step back towards Onodera. He grabbed his wrist and kissed his forehead.

"Now come on," he said and pulled him with him into the shower. There wasn't much room in the shower and they had to stand close to both actually be underneath the hot water. Onodera leaned against Takano's smooth chest and sighed exhausted but content. He closed his eyes as Takano wrapped his arms around him and pressed him close.

"This is nice," Onodera whispered.

"Huh?" Takano pulled back and looked at his sick lover.

"Being naked with you. Without anything happening. Just being," Onodera mumbled on, but he kept his head down. It was silent except for the patter of water around them and the water rushing through the pipes. Then Takano chuckled, a deep chuckle somewhere down his throat and he hugged Onodera again.

"Ritsu," he mumbled against the other's hair. "You're amazing."


	3. Chapter 3

After the shower Onodera was burritoed in a blanket back on the sofa next to Takano. He was watching Takano shuffle the papers on the table, making angry red marks and circles and arrows in quick motions. He picked up one of the sheets, looked at it for a total of 3 seconds and then tossed it aside.

"Useless," he mumbled and picked up a new sheet. Onodera looked at him work for what felt like hours, before he dared to speak.

"Do you-" Onodera coughed and cleared his throat. "Do you need help? I can do some."

At first, Onodera thought Takano hadn't heard him. Then he put down his current sheet of paper on the table and starred into thin air. Then he flipped his face towards Onodera and grabbed both his shoulders.

" _Are you an actual idiot?!"_ Takano nearly screamed at Onodera. Onodera looked at him wide eyed as Takano took heavy breaths. Then he removed his hands from Onodera's shoulders. He pushed up his glasses with one hand and pinched the skin between his eyes.

"Are you really unable to just take one day off to get well? It's important to rest when you're sick," he said in a quieter tone than before.

"It wouldn't be a lot, I just wanna help," Onodera tried, but he barely finished his sentence before Takano put his hand over his mouth.

"No," Takano ended the conversation. He returned to the storyboards. Onodera snuggled into his blanket burrito with a pout, but no more than a minute passed before he talked again:

"But I could just- "

"Ritsu!" Takano starred at him furiously. Onodera's eyes widened even more than before, but there was a fury there as well.

"It's fine, Takano!" he yelled back, but the strain on his throat threw him into a coughing fit and Takano instantly let his pen fall to the ground.

"Ritsu," he said in a soft voice and stroked his back until the coughing stopped. He very gently put his hand on Onodera's cheek and forehead and through his hair. Then he folded his arms around him and pulled him closer.

"Do you wanna go to bed?" he asked into his hair.

"No," Onodera mumbled back into his chest. He wasn't really tired, but bored and, well,  _scared,_  sort of. Of being lonely, mostly. He didn't voice these thoughts.

"I wanna stay here," he said instead.  _With you_ , was implied, but he left that out as well.

"All right," Takano said softly and gave him a little squeeze and let him go. "But I need to work and you need to rest, okay?"

Onodera nodded. Takano narrowed his eyes at him.

"Promise you'll rest fine here?" Onodera nodded again.

"Promise," Takano repeated.

"Promise," Onodera sighed.

"Good," Takano said. He kissed his head and tussled his hair before returning to the papers once more. Onodera settled back into the sofa.

He continued to watch Takano shuffle through papers, making angry red marks and circles and arrows and shot occasional glances at Onodera in quick motions. Onodera pulled the blanket up to his nose and rolled his eyes at Takano's paranoia. Takano looked back at the papers, but he wasn't shuffling or making red marks. Instead he focused hard at nothing. Then he looked back at Onodera.

"You really have some guts to roll your eyes at me," he growled. Onodera wasn't sure how serious this situation was. He shrunk deeper into the blanket until just his eyes peeked over the edge. Their stared for the longest time at each other, Takano comtemplating his next move, Onodera scared of what would happen next if he looked away. He should just not do anything, right? He should just shut up and stay still instead of playing his luck, but maybe Takano was right and he was an actual idiot, because before he could stop it, he just mumbled:

"I'm okay, really." And Takano threw his pen to the ground and picked up Onodera, blanket and all, and Onodera shrieked before laughing as Takano marched into the bed room with him in his arms. He dropped Onodera onto the bed and jumped onto it himself after him. Onodera laughed and Takano smiled, until Onoderas laughed turned into a cough. Takano rubbed his back gently. He on his arms above Onodera as the coughing had stopped and looked at him with worried eyes.

"You still have a fever. I can feel the heat radiating off you," he said and sat up. "You need to rest."

He grabbed Onodera's hand and squeezed it.

"I'll be in the living room if you need me," he said and got up, but Onodera didn't let go of his hand. Surprised, he turned back to face him.

"Please don't go," Onodera whispered, the tiniest voice he had ever heard and Takano's face softened completely.

"Ritsu," he said just as softly and took a step closer to the bed. He leaned in over Onodera and looked him in the eyes, as if to see if he really meant it.

"Of course," he smiled and kissed Onodera forehead and crawled into the bed next to him. Onodera snuggled close to him, letting Takano wrap his arms around him and both let whatever this might mean be something to deal with tomorrow.


End file.
